After shooting, rapper Benzino said he's 'much better'

From his Weymouth hospital room, rapper and reality TV star Raymond “Benzino” Scott said he's doing OK after being shot during the funeral procession for his mother.

By Lauren DiTullioThe Patriot Ledger

WEYMOUTH – From his room at South Shore Hospital, rapper and reality TV star Raymond “Benzino” Scott said he’s doing OK after being shot during the funeral procession for his mother.

“No one wants to put (their family) through that ... but I look at it like she (Scott’s mother) is the guardian angel that got me through it,” Scott said.

Scott, 48, of Mansfield was shot Saturday afternoon during the procession on Route 3 south in Duxbury, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said. His nephew Gai Scott of Randolph has been accused of the shooting and was to be arraigned today in Plymouth District Court.

Duxbury firefighters took Raymond Scott to South Shore Hospital with non-fatal injuries. He remained there Sunday with a private security guard posted outside his room. Inside, there were about 15 friends and family members visiting to lift Scott’s spirits. They were getting ready to order takeout for dinner.

“I’m feeling much better today than yesterday,” Raymond Scott said. He said he could not comment on the events that led up to the shooting because of the criminal investigation.

“There has been growing family tension between Raymond Scott and Gai Scott,” Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said in a statement.

The two were heading to St. Peter’s Church in Plymouth for the funeral of Raymond Scott’s mother.

“At some point when the cars were side by side, Gai Scott fired several shots into the red Dodge SUV being driven by Raymond Scott,” the statement said.

Raymond Scott got out of his SUV and was taken first to the Duxbury police station by his aunt, who was also driving in the procession.

Raymond Scott said he has a bullet lodged in his upper arm, but the injuries he sustained are relatively minor. He said he expects to be released from the hospital by Tuesday.

Gai Scott was arrested by Plymouth police and charged with assault with intent to murder. He was taken to the State Police barracks in Middleboro.

Raymond Scott has appeared on the VH1 reality television show “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” since 2012. A new season is set to debut April 22.

His former rap group, Made Men, was implicated in the stabbing of former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce in September 2000. In 2002, Scott, a co-founder of the hip-hop magazine The Source, ran a Canton-based program called The Incarcerated Tears Movement. It aimed to keep urban youth out of prison and train ex-convicts for jobs.

On Saturday, Route 3 in Duxbury was closed for several hours during the police investigation.

State Police received several 911 calls a little before noon Saturday reporting the shooting. Troopers responded to the scene and observed the SUV in the middle of Route 3 with bullet holes and what appeared to be blood in it. There were shell casings found at the scene.

Material from WCVB Channel 5 was used in this report.

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